Irish actor Ray Stevenson has died at the age of 58.
The actor is known for starring in films including King Arthur, Punisher: War Zone and Marvel’s Thor films. He is also due to star in the forthcoming Star Wars spin-off series Ahsoka.
Stevenson died on Sunday (21 May), his publicist confirmed to Variety. A cause of death has not been given. His former co-stars, including Harry Potter actor Matthew Lewis and Rome’s James Purefoy, have led tributes to the actor.
Marvel fans will recognise Stevenson from his role in 2008’s Punisher: War Zone opposite Dominic West and Doug Hutchinson.
Stevenson was the third actor to portray Frank Castle (aka Punisher) on screen, following in the footsteps of Dolph Lundgren in 1989 and Thomas Jane in 2004. Jon Bernthal later portrayed the character in Netflix’s Daredevil and The Punisher shows.
In his second Marvel role, Stevenson starred in the first three Thor films, appearing opposite Chris Hemsworth’s titular character as Asgardian hero Volstagg. He made his last appearance in 2018’s Thor: Ragnarok.
He recently appeared in the Oscar-nominated Tollywood action film RRR, starring as the evil Governor Scott Buxton.
Stevenson will also appear in the highly anticipated Ahsoka. The Star Wars spin-off series will arrive on Disney Plus in August. He plays Baylan Skoll, a Jedi who turns to the dark side.
The Lisburn-born actor began his career on TV shows in the Nineties. His first major film role arrived in Antoine Fuqua’s film King Arthur.
The 2004 film saw him star opposite Clive Owen’s Arthur. Stevenson played Dagonet, one of the Knights of the Round Table.
Elsewhere in his career, the Northern Irish star appeared in action movies, including The Book of Eli (2010) and GI Joe: Retaliation (2013).
He also starred in the popular Divergent franchise opposite Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Zoë Kravitz, and Miles Teller. Stevenson played Marcus Eaton, father to James’s character, Four.
Stevenson also appeared in a number of small screen productions. He played Titus Pullo, a Roman soldier, on HBO’s historical drama Rome from 2005 to 2007. The critically acclaimed series was awarded seven Emmys during its two seasons.
In 2012, Stevenson played Ukrainian mob member Isaak Sirko in the seventh season of Showtime’s serial killer series Dexter.
He also starred as Blackbeard in the third and fourth seasons of Black Sails (2016 and 2017) and Othere on the sixth season of Vikings (2019).
